MAP #: 280D5
CARTOGRAPHER : DES BARRES, JOSEPH F.W.
DATE: 1780
SHORT TITLE : A CHART OF THE COAST OF NEW YORK, NEW JERSEY, PENSILVANIA, MARYLAND,
REMAINING TITLE & ID : VIRGINIA, NORTH CAROLINA, &c. COMPOSED FROM THE DEPOSIT OF SURVEYS OF THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE LORDS OF TRADE. WITH SOUNDINGS & NAUTICAL REMARKS FROM LT. JN.o KNIGHT OF THE NAVY & OTHERS. BY JOS. FRED. W. DEBARRES ESQ.r. (IN BOX IN LOWER RIGHT CORNER OF MAP). "PUBLISH'D ACCORDING TO ACT OF PARLIAMENT MARCH 1. 1780. BY J.F.W. DESBARRES ESQr." (BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER OUTSIDE NEAT LINE). TWO SCALES (BELOW TITLE IN BOX. THE TOP SCALE IS IN NAUTICAL MILES - 71/2"=60 MI. THE LOWER SCALE IS IN STATUTE MILES - 6"= 60 MI). THERE IS NOTHING ON THE REVERSE SIDE. LONGITUDE WEST FROM LONDON (TOP AND BOTTOM BORDERS). LATITUDE (RIGHT AND LEFT BORDERS).
BRITAIN BEGAN TO PLAY A LEADING ROLE IN CHARTMAKING IN THE LATE 18TH CENTURY AND THE ATLANTIC NEPTUNE IS THE BEST EXAMPLE OF THAT LEADERSHIP. JOSEPH FREDERICK WALLET DES BARRES (1721-1824), OF SWISS EXTRACTION, BECAME A BRITISH SUBJECT AND ENTERED THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY. A MILITARY ENGINEER, HE TOOK PART IN COL. AMHERST'S EXPEDITION TO NEWFOUNDLAND AND SURVEYED ITS MAJOR HARBORS. IN 1763, HE BEGAN SUPERVISING A NUMBER OF SURVEYORS WORKING ALONG THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST OF N.A. IN 1774, DES BARRES RETURNED TO LONDON AND BEGAN TEN YEARS OF WORK THAT ENDED IN THE ATLANTIC NEPTUNE. ENGRAVING AND PRINTING BEGAN IN 1774 AND THE FIRST APPEARANCE OF THE CHARTS UNDER THE NAME THE ATLANTIC NEPTUNE OCCURRED IN 1777.
THE ACTUAL NUMBER OF CHARTS ENGRAVED IS UNKNOWN. DES BARRES SAYS 257, ALTHOUGH OTHERS NOT INCLUDED IN HIS LIST ARE IN THE NYPL. THERE ARE AS MANY AS 10 VARIANTS OR ISSUES OF SOME OF THE MAPS.
MANY PLACE NAMES ARE SHOWN THAT APPEAR ON NO OTHER MAPS OF THE TIME AND THAT IN SOME CASES ARE OTHERWISE UNKNOWN AND THUS ARE EXTREMELY VALUABLE HISTORICALLY. THE CHARTS ARE ACCOMPANIED IN LATER ISSUES OF THE ATLANTIC NEPTUNE BY OFTEN FINELY TINTED VIEWS LIKE WATERCOLORS, SHOWING SHORE PROFILES, ETC.
THE ACCURACY AND FINE ARTISTIC EXCELLENCE OF HIS WORK, REFLECTING IN PART THE HIGH QUALITY OF COPPER ENGRAVING THEN BEING REACHED IN ENGLAND,THE INCLUSION OF A SHEET SHOWING THE MANY CONVENTIONAL SYMBOLS USED IN THE CHARTS, THE USE OF THE GREENWICH MERIDIAN (WHICH THE U.S. CHARTS FOLLOWED EVEN BEFORE IT WAS CHOSEN AS THE PRIME MERIDIAN IN 1884) AND THE DISPLAY OF DIFFERENCES IN SOIL STRUCTURE, TYPES OF BEACHES, AND DETAILS OF FIELDS, WOODS AND HOUSES ADJACENT TO THE SHORE ALL RESULTED IN THESE CHARTS SERVING AS THE PRIMARY SOURCE FOR MOST AMERICAN CHARTS FOR THE NEXT FIFTY YEARS.
DATA IS FROM "MAPS OF EARLY AMERICA" BY LEGEAR, THE SEA CHART BY HOWSE AND SANDERSON, BRITISH MAPS OF COLONIAL AMERICA BY CUMMING, AND MAPS & MAP-MAKERS BY TOOLEY.
EDITION & STATE INFO : ONLY A SINGLE EDITION AND STATE ARE KNOWN TO THE WRITER.
HFC OWNERSHIP DATA : HFC HAS A FINE COPY PRINTED IN A BROWNISH COLOR INK. THE THREE SHEETS ARE JOINED TO MAKE A SINGLE LONG CHART. HFC ALSO HAS A BLACK AND WHITE FULL SIZE REPRODUCTION OF THE COPY IN THE ARCHIVES OF CANADA. IT WAS A GIFT FROM THE ARCHIVES.
BIBLIGRAPHICAL REFS. : LEGEAR, CLARA E., "MAPS OF EARLY AMERICA", A LA CARTE, LIBRARY OF CONGRESS WASH., D.C., 1972, PP. 88-90;HOWSE, DEREK & SANDERSON,MICHAEL, THE SEA CHART, NEW YORK, 1973, PP. 12,109,129; CUMMING, WILLIAM P., BRITISH MAPS OF COLONIAL AMERICA AMERICA, UNIV. OF CHICAGO PRESS, CHICAGO, 1974, P. 56; TOOLEY, R.V., MAPS & MAP-MAKERS, NEW YORK, 1947, PP. 63,114; PHILLIPS, ATLASES, VOL 1,#1198,ITEM 38, VOL 3, P. 636, #1199, ITEM 24, VOL 3, P. 639, #1200, ITEM 25, VOL 3, P. 642, #1201, ITEM 25, VOL 3, P. 645, #1202, ITEM 30, VOL 3, P. 648, #1203, ITEM 25, VOL 3, P. 650, #1205, ITEM 26, VOL 3, P. 654; VOL. #3, #3654, ITEM 12, VOL 3, PT 3, P. 456, #3655, ITEM 12, VOL 3, PT 3, P. 459, #3656, ITEM 12, VOL 3, PT 3, P. 463, #3658, ITEM 12, PT 3, P. 468; VOL. #4, #4473, ITEM 62, P. 254, #4474, ITEM 24, VOL. 3, P. 256.
March 13, 1988
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